It was midnight. The full moon was high in the night sky. Its light fell over the forest.
It was a beautiful scenery, yet inside the same forest,
It was the opposite.
Dark inside the forest. Only some streaks of light fell through parted leaves and branches. While on those branches were humanoid figures. Not one... but many.
Their hands were long. Bodies filled with black hair.
Blood-red eyes showing bloodlust. They were in huge numbers. More than twenty, or maybe even more.
They were surrounding their prey.
And the prey was none other than Amon and his friends.
"They are Barlgura. Rank 1 monsters, while some being Rank 2."
It was Vixra who provided the information.
They were not a big problem. The real problem was their number.
Well, that was what Amon thought.
Because before he could do anything,
Selena had already vanished.
Thud!
Thud!
Sounds of something falling on the ground and fallen leaves could be heard.
They were two Barlgura heads.
Standing there was Selena, her beautiful sword shining with an otherworldly hue.
At this moment, her body was releasing a heavy pressure.
The other Barlguras were now stepping back while still growling.
Not only Amon, but everyone present here could feel it. She was too strong.
’She-she feels stronger than Hector!’
Amon was not someone who could understand one’s strength by their aura or pressure.
But still, he could tell this girl in front of him was without any doubt stronger than Hector.
"What are you looking at? Start killing them."
At her words, Jareth dashed.
Vixra summoned an intermediate-level wind spell while raising her wand.
The long wooden wand’s huge green color gemstone at the top shined brightly.
The Barlguras watching them didn’t step back anymore.
They also dashed at the group.
Jareth blocked the incoming attack with his shield. His sword cleanly cut the monster’s chest.
Vixra’s huge multiple arrows of wind shot toward them, killing some while injuring others.
One of the Barlguras jumped at Amon from a tree.
He didn’t waste any moment.
A silver trajectory formed straight toward the monster.
Clunk!
The silver hatchet blade tore through the skull of the Barlgura.
Its body fell on the ground with a painful scream.
Amon dashed forward. He bent a little and took out the stuck hatchet from its head, holding it in his left hand while his sword was in his right.
Another one came, but its movement halted as a shadowy hand held its leg.
Amon didn’t waste time and swung his sword.
It was looking down at the shadowy hand when a deep cut formed on its neck.
Rustling!
The clawed hand of a Barlgura attacked Amon from his left side.
He blocked it with the flat side of his hatchet.
Mana enforced his right leg as he kicked its gut hard.
The abomination fell back on the ground.
Amon struck the hatchet into its face.
Splash!
Blood spilled as the monster’s head was torn in the middle.
Amon was killing brutally.
Meanwhile, Selena was killing the monsters like a machine.
She vanished from one spot and appeared at another. Like she was teleporting from place to place.
Slash!
Thud!
Clang!
Her sword was colored with cold blood.
Bodies fell, one after another.
She was targeting only Rank 2 Barlguras.
There was clear fear in the Barlguras’ eyes that were facing Selena.
While Jareth was fighting like a trained knight.
No wasted movements. Clean swordsmanship with the use of his shield.
He was fighting with discipline.
Slash!
His attacks were filled with strength.
Strong enough to cut a monster in two halves.
On the other hand, Vixra was using magic spells.
She possessed three elements.
One of the rarest cases.
Wind, Fire, and Light.
She fought from afar yet dealt the most damage to enemies.
Her emerald eyes caught sight of some Barlguras running away.
They had already run far.
"Selena! Some of them are running!"
She pointed in the direction where she saw those creatures fleeing.
There were only three in number.
Selena, who had just killed the last Rank 2 Barlgura, gazed in the direction pointed by Vixra.
"Go after them."
She spoke in a loud voice. Enough for all to hear.
Amon, who had just thrust his sword inside one of the Rank 1 Barlguras, turned his face toward her.
His breathing was heavy. Unlike the others, it was not easy for him to kill monsters.
Jareth also looked at Selena and nodded.
Selena had already started to run in the direction of the fleeing monsters.
The other three went after her.
Creak!
Creak!
Their footsteps made a creaking sound as they ran.
The monsters were running deeper and deeper into the forest.
Selena, watching from behind, narrowed her eyes.
Her body vanished as she covered a long distance in seconds.
Her breathing was a little heavy.
"Is... is she running that fast? Or is it something else?"
Amon finally asked.
Jareth, who was running in front of him, answered.
"It’s her ability... she got it from her class."
This time, Vixra continued. "Basically, it’s something like teleportation."
Amon widened his eyes.
’That’s OP power... damn, only if I had that power. It would’ve been useful for running away.’
Amon shook his head dejectedly.
He was truly an unfortunate man.
Despite having an ominous type of class, he still hadn’t gotten any ability.
’I need to work harder. Dammit!’
Jareth slowly increased his pace.
Amon also used his small amount of mana to increase his speed.
While Vixra used her wind spells to move faster.
After a long run, they finally caught up with Selena.
She was standing there, looking down. Her face was serious and cold.
In front of her was a slope. The path ahead went downward.
A huge pit-like formation was in the middle of the forest.
It was huge.
Amon and the others came beside Selena.
They looked down at where Selena was looking.
Their eyes widened in horror.
Amon’s face turned pale at the sight.
’No way. Shit-’
But this time, he didn’t get any chance to curse.
A huge red pillar of light rose from the direction of the town.
The red pillar stopped in mid-air. Slowly it formed a dome-like structure, not only around the town but including vast areas close to it.
The forest where the group was right now was also inside the dome-like barrier.
Slowly, the red dome barrier turned transparent and vanished.
The night was still not over.
And also,
The true battle had yet to start.